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MOORE COUNTY 


By W. J. ADAMS 


News-Blade Print, Garthage, N. C. 


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The first building dedicated to Christian worship in 
North Carolina was erected by the Church of England 
in Chowan County in 1702. Bancroft says that prior to 
1705 there was no stationed preacher of any persuasion 
in the colony. George Whitefield*, a colaborer of John 
Wesley, traversed the maritime section as early as 1739; 
and while he cannot properly be denominated a Metho- 
dist itinerant preacher, his eloquence and zeal prepared 
the way of Methedism and made its paths straight. The 
assertion that there were isolated groups of Methodists 
along the seaboard in 1760 can hardly be verified. About 
this time, the Rev. James Reed, a ciergyman of the Es- 
tablished Church, writing from Newbern to the Society 
for the Propagation of the Gospel, said: “Great num- 
bers of dissenters of all denominations came and settled 
among us from New England, particularly Anabaptists, 
Methodists, Quakers, and Presbyterians. The Anabap- 
tists are obstinate, illiterate and grossly ignorant; the 
Methodists, ignorant, censorious and uncharitable.” On 
June 25, 1761, he wrote: “The Methodists of late have 
given me a good deal of trouble along the borders of my 
parish by preaching up the inexpediency of human learn- 
ing and the practice of moral virtue, and the great ex- 
pediency of dreams, visions and immediate revelations. 
I have labored much to stop their progress, and, I thank 
God, with great success.” Again, December 26, 1761: 
“The fervor of the Methodists upon the skirts and _ bor- 
ders of my parish, which I mentioned in my last, is very 
much abated, and the little ground they had gained in 
this country, I verily believe, will in a few months be 
totally lost.” 

The people to whom Mr. Reed referred were not 
Methodists, but probably a sect known as the “Superior 


* Addenda, Note 1. 


Lights from New England.” Indeed, at a later date he 
was inclined to make this frank admission. In a letter 
dated December 21, 1764, he wrote that George White- 
field while in Newbern acknowledged none Methodists 
but the followers of himself and Mr. Wesley. More- 
over, Governor Tryon, writing on the religious condition 
of the country at this time, said: “Every sect abounds 
here except the Roman Catholic, and by the best inform- 
ation I can get, Presbytery and a sect who call them- 
selves New Lights (not of the flock of Mr. Whitefield, but 
Superior Lights from New England) appear in the front. 
These New Lights live chiefly in the maritime counties; 
the Presbyterians are settled mostly in the back or west- 
ward counties, though the Church of England, I reckon, 
at present, to have the majority of all the other sects.” 

The truth is, the Methodist itinerant preacher came 
to North Carolina more than a decade after Mr. Reed’s 
letters had been written. 


Robert Strawbridge, a native of Ireland, probably 
in 1760, crossed the Atlantic and settled on Sam’s Creek, 
then in the backwoods of Maryland, and opened his house 
for preaching. He was a local preacher of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church. Four years later, about a mile 
from his home, in Frederick (now Carroll) Ccunty,was 
built the first Methodist ‘‘meeting-house” in America,— 
“twenty-two feet square; the logs sawed for a docrway 
on one side, and smaller openings made on the other 
three sides for windows; and no regular floor.” Straw- 
bridge preached here for many years. Although it had 
“no regular floor,” it had a pulpit, for under the pulpit 
were buried two of the preacher’s little children. In a 
sense, this “primitive chapel’? may be said to have been 
the mother of Methodism in North Carolina. 

On October 24, 1769, Richard Boardman and Joseph 
Pilmoor, presumably the first regular Methodist itinerant 
preachers to come to this country, landed at Gloucester 
Point, six miles from Philadelphia. Pilmoor came 
south, preaching in Maryland and Virginia, and building 
up the work begun by Strawbridge. He entered North 
Carolina in 1772, and on September 28 at Currituck 

4 


Courthouse preached the first sermon delivered in the 
colony by a Methodist minister. In December he was in 
Newbern, and in January 1773 in Wilmington, whence 
he departed on a journey to Charleston, “making a tour 
of observation to ascertain the propriety of sending 
Methodist preachers into that part of the country.” 
tarly in 1773 Robert Williams, a native of England, toi- 
lowed Pilmoor into North Carolina. Possibly during the 
next year he organized the first “society” in the State. 
“He was the first to organize a society south of the Po- 
tomac, the first to plan a circuit, the first of the Wesleyan 
preachers in America to marry, the first to locate, the 
first to pass from the scenes of earth.” In 1775 Thomas 
Rankin, who convened and presided over the first Annual 
Conference, crossed the Roanoke River and preached at 
a chapel south of the Virginia line. In the same year 
John King, John Wade, and Isaac Rollins traveled the 
Brunswick Circuit, which embraced a part of Virginia, 
and Bute (now Franklin and Warren) and Halifax coun- 
ties, in North Carolina. 


The Conference held in Baltimore in May 1776 or- 
ganized for this State the Carolina Circuit, the exact 
boundaries of which are not known. The preachers 
were Edward Drumgole (sic), Francis Poythress, and 
Isham Tatum. Dromgoole was born in Sligo, Ireland. 
Approaching manhood, he cast his lot with the Metho- 
dists, renounced Roman Catholicism, came to America in 
1770, and four years afterwards began to preach. He 
was possessed of a high order of intellect and endowed 
with the gift of Irish eloquence. ‘‘He was plain in his 
dress, gentle an unassuming in his deportment, of deep 
piety, and great moral worth. His voice, his counte- 
nance, and his gestures gave a power to his eloquence 
which is rarely equalled at this day.” Lest his “liber- 
ty” be restrained, on going into the pulpit he sometimes 
laid aside his coat and neckcloth. Francis Poythress 
was a man of wealth and high social position. In de- 
portment he was grave; in conversation, chaste; and in 
the discharge of his ministerial duties, beyond reproach. 
The Carolina Circuit was Tatum’s first charge. Ks- 

5 


teemed for his eloquence, Tatum throughout the country 
was acclaimed “Silver Trumpet.” At the time of his 
death he was the oldest Methodist preacher in the United 
States. 

In the Minutes of 1777 appears the North Carolina 
Circuit, to which were appointed as preachers John 
King, John Dickens, Lee Roy Cole, and Edward Pride, 
three of whom merit special note. 

John King was a graduate of Oxford and of a medi- 
cal college in London. In the year preceding his ap- 
pointment to the North Carolina Circuit, or about this 
time, he bought a home in Franklin County, near Louis- 
burg, and afterwards moved to Wake County about ten 
miles west of Raleigh. He died in 1794 while on a visit 
to Newbern. Mr. Wesley, displeased with his pulpit de- 
meanor, administered to him the following reproof: 
“Scream no more at the peril of your soul. God now 
warns you by me whom he has set over you. Speak as 
earnestly as you can, but do not scream. Speak with all 
your heart, but with a moderate voice.: It was said of 
our Lord, ‘He shall not cry.’ The word properly means, 
‘He shall not scream.’ I often speak aloud, often ve- 
hemently, but I never scream; I never strain myself—I 
dare not. I know it would be a sin against God and my 
own soul.” 


Of John Dickens Mr. Asbury said: ‘For piety, pro- 
bity, profitable preaching, holy living, Christian educa- 
tion of his children, secret closet prayer, I doubt whether 
his superior is to be found either in Europe or America.” 

At the Conference held, in Baltimore in June 1785, 
Lee Roy Cole was suspended from the ministry, but upon 
what charge it is not known. He was an “elder,” and 
for ten years had retained an unblemished reputation. 
In less than a year the Conference, convinced of the injus- 
tice done him, again invited him into the ministry. He 
traveled only a few years thereafter, and broken and in- 
firm he retired from the itinerancy. 

In 1778 the North Carolina Circuit was discontinued, 
and in its stead three others were formed: Roanoke. 
Tar River, and New Hope. New Hope took its name 
6 


from a creek which runs through Durham (formerly 
Orange) County and empties into Haw River in the 
southern part of Chatham. It embraced a part of Gran- 
ville, Wake, Person, Chatham, and Cumberland. It evi- 
dently included a portion of that part of Cumberland 
which in 1784 was set off as Moore County. It is 
claimed that Methodism existed in some parts of the 
circuit anterior to 1780. In 1779 the preachers ap- 
pointed to New Hope were James Kelly and _ Phillip 
Adams. In the same year Jesse Lee, who became a dis- 
tinguished Methodist preacher, was drafted to serve the 
State militia in the Revolution. Refusing to bear arms 
he served as the driver of a baggage wagon. He passed 
through Chatham, crossed Haw River, Island Ford, Deep 
Creek, Drowning Creek, entered South Carolina, and in 
September fell back to Deep River. As occasion offered 
he no doubt proclaimed the Methodist faith wherever he 
journeyed. 

In July 1780 there appeared in this section of the 
State the most picturesque figure in the Methodist 
Church in America—Francis Asbury*. He was born 
in England in 1745, came to America in 1771, was ap- 
pointed “General Assistant in America” in 1772, was 
elected superintendent or bishop in 1784, and died March 
31, 1816. For fifty-five years he traveled almost con- 
stantly. In thirty years he crossed the Alleghany 
Mountains fifty-eight times. He preached more than 
sixteen thousand sermons, sat in two hundred and twen- 
ty-four Annual Conferences, and ordained more than 
four thousand ministers. The following are excerpts 
from his journal: 

1780—Thursday, July 20. “We came to a desperate 
ereek called Northeast, in Chatham County, where the 
bridve was carried away by the freshet; we had to go 
through among rocks, holes, and logs; I was affrighted; 
yea, it was wonderful that the carriage did not overset: 
brother Poythress said the horse was down twice and 
covered all but his head; however, the water kept up 
the carriage, and we came safe through all our difficul- 


*Note 2. 
7 


ties to brother Merritt’s. Here I met brother Allen, a 
promising young man, but a little of a dissenter.” 

Sunday, July 23. “We passed Haw River, wide but 
shallow, bad going down and coming up; they took the 
carriage over by hand; then we had to travel the path- 
less woods and rocks again; after much trouble, and fear, 
and dejection, we came to Taylor’s preaching-house, 
where they were pressing horses, as we expected.” 

Monday, July 24. “I crossed Rocky River about ten 
miles from Haw River; it was rocky sure enough; it is in 
Chatham County, North Carolina. I see little else but 
cabins in these parts, built with poles; and such a coun- 
try as no man ever saw for a carriage. I narrowly es- 
caped being overset; was much affrighted, but Provi- 
dence keeps me, and I trust will. I crossed Deep River 
in a flatboat, and the poor ferryman sinner swore because 
I had not a silver shilling to give him.” 

Mr. Asbury had come to North Carolina to quiet ex- 
citement among the preachers growing out of the admin- 
istration of the sacraments. He traveled through Wake. 
Orange, and Cumberland, whence it is inferred that Meth- 
odism had previously won recognition in these counties. 

In 1781 Philip Bruce served the New Hope Circuit. 
In “Pioneers of Methodism” it is said: “Few names de- 
serve a higher place in the annals of Methodism than that 
of Philip Bruce—certainly to no one are the Methodists of 
the Carolinas and Virginia more indebted. He was 
born near King’s Mountain, in North Carolina, December 
25, 1755. His ancestors were French Huguenots who had 
fled from the persecution of Louis XIV to seek civil and 
religious liberty in the New World.” He must have been 
a man of eloquent and convincing speech. The follow- 
ing incident illustrates the father’s estimate of his son’s 
linguistic power: “Having an appointment which re- 
quired him to start very early in order to reach it in time. 
after a ride of several miles the preacher stopped at the 
house of a widow to get breakfast. He was scarcely 
seated in the house when an officer and a squad of men 
from Tarleton’s troops rode into the yard and called for 
breakfast. Bruce met them and politely invited them in, 

8 


saying he had called for the same purpose. He then left 
thern and went to assist the good lady in the prepara- 
tions. Very soon the table was spread with an abund- 
ance of good cheer, to which Bruce and the soldiers did 
ample justice. The breakfast over, Bruce turned to the 
officer and said: ‘Sir, I am your prisoner. I ama 
Methodist preacher on my way to an appointment, and 
would be pieased to be permitted to go.’ ‘Certainly, cer- 
tainly, Mr. Bruce,’ replied the officer. ‘You are at liber- 
ty to go.’ He thanked the officer for his kindness and 
rode away rejoicing. On being asked how he managed 
to get on so well with them, he said: ‘My father used 
to say to me, Phil, if they will only let you talk, they will 
never hang you.’ ” 

In 17&2 the preacher in charge of New Hope was 
James White; and 1783 Henry Willis, who contributed in 
a marked degree to the growth of his church on this 
work. At this time there was no Methodist “meeting- 
house” in that part of Cumberland which is now Moore 
County. The preacher delivered his message at a dwell- 
ing or a “‘settlement’”—wherever the people might gather 
together. Churches, however, had been erected in ad- 
jacent counties. Probably in 17&2 a building called 
Reeves’s Meeting-house, afterwards, Center, was erected 
in the upper part of Montgomery County, between the 
Uwharrie and the Yadkin. Eight miles north of Center, 
in the southern part of Randolph County, a church known 
as Salem was built about the same time. A few miles 
southeast of Center, at an earlier date, a society was or- 
ganized at Hancock’s Meeting-house. On the east of the 
Uwharrie there was another preaching place known as 
Eell’s, later, as Prospect. The influence that radiated 
from these churches reached and affected the people in 
Moore. 

Joshua Worley was in charge of New Hope in 1784; 
and in 1785 Henry Jones, with Rueben Ellis as elder— 
the word “elder” first appearing this year in the Minutes 
of the Conferences. The term “presiding elder’ was 
not used until 1789. Assigned to this work for 1786 
were Richard Ivey as elder, and William Partridge as 

9 


preacher in charge. This year Hope Hull organized a 
society at Zion, near Mt. Gilead, in Montomery County. 
For many years it was called Scarborough’s Meeting- 
house. Camp-meetings were held there annually for fif- 
ty years, and their influence extended of course beyond 
the county lines. 

For lack of more definite information our history for 
the next few years is confined to a bare recital of the 
names of the preachers. In 1787 John Baldwin was ap- 
pointed to New Hope; in 1788 Henry Ogburn, John Ellis, 
and Nathaniel Moore; in 1789 Thomas Anderson and 
Daily Beard; in 1790 Isaac Law and Micajah Tracy; in 
1791 J. Cannon, F. Roper, and S. Edney; in 1792 J. Fore, 
Henry Hill, and J. Jackson; in 1793 Aquila Sugg and Wil- 
liam Willis; and in 1794 William Ormond and Leonard Dy- 
son. The territory to be traversed, the ordeals to be met, 
and the work to be accomplished demanded the services 
of more than one man. 

The Haw River Circuit was formed out of New Hope 
and Tar River in 1798. This year Bishop Asbury vis- 
ited these circuits, again crossing Deep River, and 
preaching on his journey. Five years afterwards he 
yassed Hickory Mountain, Pleasant Garden, Bell’s on 
Deep River, and attended a quarterly meeting at Salem, 
in Randolph County. The next year passing through 
Guilford, he came down on the soutn fork of Haw River, ~ 
attended a quarterly meeting at Bethel, on Belew’s 
Creek, ordained five deacons, and had a “gracious time.” 

Observing in our record a hiatus of several years, 
caused by the want of access to the sources of informa- 
tion, we approach the period known in the ecclesiastical 
history of the State as the “dark decade”—1810 to 1820. 
Concerning the progress of the churches about this time 
(1810) a contemporaneous writer said: “There are at 
present but three regular Presbyterian congregations in 
Moore County. The number of communicants is about 
two hundred. The Baptists have a number of societies 
and churches, but are soon likely to be outnumbered by 
the Methodists, whose popular doctrines, plans, zeal, and 
diligence are better calculated than any other profession 

10 


to make proselytes of the common people. Within the or- 
bits of their circuits are a number of places for stated 
preaching in the county.” 

It was during this period that the first Methodist 
‘“meeting-house” in Moore County was built. Before 
the Revolution pioneers of Methodism had preached at 
the home of Jerry Phillips, on Indian Creek in Chatham 
County, about four miles northeast of Fair Promise. 
Jerry Phillips, his wife, Susan, John Phillips, Amy Car- 
roll, and Jchn Seal were the first members of the Metho- 
dist Church at this place. The membership was small, 
and the society did not survive the stress of war. It led 
however, to the organization of another not far away. 

In 1814 Charles Dickerson, a native of Moore Coun- 
ty, returned as a Methodist preacher from Georgia, his 
adopted State, to his old home on Deep River. He 
preached at a “school-hut”’ which stood on or near the 
site of Fair Promise; at a place near Guif; and at another 
near the Siler camping-ground, or the old Rhodes place, 
about five miles southeast of Carthage. At the “school- 
hut” he had evidently organized a society, for under the 
ministry of his successor the membership there was in- 
creased in 1816 by the addition of Polly Carroll, Polly 
Barnes, and George Stewart and his wife. 


This was an eventful year in the history of Methodism 
in Moore—the year 1816. It marks the selection at Fair 
Promise of a site on which was afterwards erected the 
first Methodist “Meeting-house” in the county—a house 
which was lowly, it is true, but amiable as the courts of 
the Lord. And under what social and economic condi- 
tions? At this time the population of Moore County was 
about seven thousand—twelve inhabitants to the square 
mile. The land was covered with forests. A clearing 
was made, a cabin constructed of unhewn logs, and the 
hard conditions of life were bravely faced. Social life 
was simple. The soil provided bread; the forest, game; 
and sheep or flax, the homely garment. The log-rolling, 
the house-raising, the corn-shucking, the quilting-party, 
and occasional visiting, united the “neighbors” in a bond 
of common service. Barter was the usual method of ex- 

11 


change, for there was little money. The schoolmaster 
was not abroad; the means of livelihood were limited; the 
conditions of living were primitive. Besides performing 
his ministerial duties, the preacher sometimes contributed 
to the conquest of nature, sometimes to the physical sub- 
jugation of wilful men. Touching the latter role there 
is a tradition to this effect: The service had begun in a 
church which is now on the Carthage Circuit. A jolly 
roisterer came in, interrupted the service, and refused to 
tone down his uncouth vigor. The preacher, requesting 
the congregation meantime to sing a hymn, walked down 
the aisle, led the offender from the church, administered 
befitting corporal punishment, returned to the _ pulpit 
crying aloud, “Increase my courage, Lord,” and preached 
a sermon which caused breath, as from the four winds, to 
enter into a considerable number of dry bones. What 
schoolboy has not read the story and seen the picture of 
the doughty Peter Cartwright “ducking” the offensive 
ferryman in the Sangamon River? 

The church at Fair Promise was erected on land 
given for the purpose by the elder Louis Phillips. The 
site was pleasing and the prospect fair; there was the 
promise of all good things; and this lowly church was 
christened “Fair Promise”—the name it has retained for 
acentury. Hither through the years that are gone the 
tribes have come up, their paean the words of David: “I 
was glad when they said vnto me, ‘Let us go into the 
house of the Lord.’ ” * 

In 1817 John Murrow was followed by John W. Mar- 
tin. During the ministry of the latter, Louis Phillips, 
Sr., and his wife, Cherry, a sister of Charles Dickerson, 
the first pastor, were admitted to the membership of this 
church. This year the first Quarterly Conference was 
held under the leadership of the presiding elder, William 
Kennedy. 

The next year (1818) the preacher was John Boswell, 
earnest and energetic, but withal an unlettered man, who 
had to study his hymns before “lining” them, as a school- 
boy studies his lesson. He was succeeded by Andrew 

*Note 3. 

12 


Hamell in 1819; Hamell in 1820 by James Donally, and the 
latter by Thomas L. Wynn in 1821. 

In the year last named the first camp-meeting was 
held at Fair Promise. The camp-meeting was designed 
“to meet the wants of a sparsely settled country, and 
to make-a small supply of preaching go as far as possi- 
ble.’ Its advantages were “the moral and religious pow- 
er of association, cessation from labor, abstraction of 
mind and body from home-life and its cares, concentrated 
attention to one thing, and that the most important of all 
things. * * * Jt was an economic measure of the 
Church—not in a business sense, for the commercial spir- 
it did not enter into it; but as preachers were few, their 
pastoral charges large, and the local churches widely scat- 
tered, it conserved time and labor to bring the people to- 
gether in large numbers for a whole week. Besides, it 
commanded men of the best preaching talent, who drew 
people together from every quarter.” 


The small building, of course, could not contain all 
who attended. An arbor covered with fresh-scented 
boughs was erected, and provided with a primitive pulpit 
and puncheon seats. Wheat straw covered the aisles 
and the space about the pulpit. Hard by were tents ur 
booths and pine-knot fire-stands. On foot, on horseback, 
in carts and wagons the people came together to the tes- 
timony of Israel. Among the preachers at this camp- 
meeting was Peter Doub, whose service in the ministry 
covered almost half a century. During this meeting 
there was a large increase in the membership of the 
church. 


At this time those attending a camp-meeting, or in- 
deed any meeting where religious emotion was_ excited, 
were frequently affected with a peculiar bodily agitation 
called “the jerks,” “the falling exercise,’ “the running 
exercise,” and “the laughing exercise.” The “falling ex- 
ercise’ was common to all, the subject falling prone to 
the ground apparently dead. The “jerks” sometimes af- 
fected the whole body, sometimes a part of the body. 
The head was jerked backward and forward, or from side 
to side, so rapidly that the facial outlines became indis- 

13 


tinguishable, or the arms were caused to move in a man- 
ner of one playing the violin. The “running exercise” 
indicated an attempt to escape the bodily agitation by 
running away. A loud, hearty, solemn, rapturous laugh 
was the manifestation of the “laughing exercise.” 

The incident following illustrates the operation of 
this singular affection. A preacher, who in early life had 
been a dancing-master, was sent to a circuit where the 
“jerks” prevailed. He concluded the devil was the au- 
thor of this “affliction,” and determined to “preach it out 
of the church.” But he had reckoned without his host. 
Riding horseback to a country church, he fell a victim to 
the unclean spirit he had resolved to exorcise. He loosed 
the reins and gave bridle to his horse, whose speed was 
checked by the timely intervention of a neighbor. The 
rider dismounted and laid hold of a paling near by, which 
unfortunately gave way. In the door of an adjacent 
house appeared a woman, from whom the preacher tried 
in vain to conceal his grotesque behavior. He ran head- 
long into the orchard, “fiddling” as he ran, his long robe 
wafted behind him in the buoyant air. A _ pack of 
hounds, marking his flight, joined in eager pursuit and 
chased him into the back door of the house. Doubt- 
ing his power to cast out devils, the preacher went to bed 
and remained there “until the fit was over.” 

This peculiar bodily visitation was not confined to 
denomination, faith, or creed. The earnest preacher, the 
attentive hearer, the arrogant blasphemer, the laborer at 
his work, and the housekeeper at her board, were alike 
subject to its strange operation. Those who attended 
the camp-meeting at Fair Promise were not exempt from 
its influence. 

As to the cause of this phenomenon there is diversity 
of opinion. Dr. J. M. Buckley undertakes to explain the 
“exercise” from a scientific view-point. He says: “The 
psychological key to the problem is that concentrated at- 
tention, accompanied by strong religious emotion, pro- 
duces a powerful impression upon the nervous system, the 
result being an agitation of the nerves throughout the 
body, the effecss of which differ according to the constitu- 

14 


tion of the subject. In one relief is found in floods of 
tears, in another in hysterical laughter, in a third by un- 
consciousness, in a fourth by a partial loss of muscular ac- 
tion with marked effects upon the operation of the mind; 
in yet another complete catalepsy may be produced, ev- 
ery muscle becoming rigid, and so remaining for hours,i 
while no impression can be made by ordinary means upon 
either the senses or the mind; and in still another volun- 
tary motions may be constantly made lasting for hours 
together; while some temperaments can bear religious or 
any kind of emotion without outward excitement and with 
no indication except an unusual calmness. These differ- 
ences of susceptibility are seen outside the sphere of re- 
ligion, even among membrs of the same family.” 

South of Deep River, a league or more from Fair 
Promise, is situated a piece of ground formerly used for 
the regimental or battalion muster of the State militia. 
It was known as the Betty Brewer place. On this landa 
schoolhouse was built, and a Sunday-school was organ- 
ized in 1867. Soon afterwards Louis Phillips, Harris Ty- 
sor, and John Phillips, local preachers from Fair Promise, 
began to preach here; and here in 1869 Isaac Avent, who 
was in charge of the Carthage Circuit, conducted worship 
on Sunday afternoon following his periodic morning ser- 
vice at Fair Promise. In 1871 a separate church was or- 
ganized under the ministry of Lemuel H. Gibbons, and 
called Cool Spring. This schoolhouse was enlarged and 
retained for several years as the place of worship. In 
1885 a more spacious building was completed, and soon 
afterwards it was dedicated by William B. Doub. 

As already noted, there was a meeting-house at the Si- 
ler camping-ground in 1814, but its subsequent history is 
obscure. The building was afterwards moved a 
few miles to the north, and called Worthy’s Chapel. Sev- 
en or eight miles to the east, near the John W. Ccffer 
place, stood Mt. Pleasant church. In 1885 Worthy’s 
Chapel and Mt. Pleasant were united and called Ceénter- 
Union. 

Eleven years afterwards (1866) the building at Cen- 
ter-Union was removed and one more commodious was 


15 


erected, which in turn was succeeded by another more 
nearly adequate to the existing needs. 

In 1820, or about this time, there was built a log 
house more than a mile west of Carthage, on the north 
side of the Troy road, near the home of the late John 
Dowd. It was called the Burkhead Meeting-house, 
in honor of Leven Burkhead, who was_ then lead- 
er of the Methodists in this community. James 
Donally preached here in 1820, when he _ served 
the church at Fair Promise. Among the members 
were Leven Burkhead, Eleazer Burkhead, Dr. George 
Glasscock, Patsy Dickerson Glasscock, Polly Jenkens, 
and James B. Muse. Among the preachers were 
Crook, Martin, Jordan, and George Huggins, “a 
young man who had appointments scattered over 
a vast area of country.” 

At or near this place a camp-meeting was held in 
1825. Several preachers were present and a multitude 
of people. After several years this church was aban- 
doned, and an eligible site in Carthage was chosen. The 
place selected was the lot on which the Summit hotel s.ovd 
a few years ago. The late George Muse, born February 
28, 1819, said that he assisted in building this church 
when he was eighteen years of age. This incident fixes 
the date in 1837. At this time it was the only church 
building in Carthage, the Presbyterian church following 
it about 1851, and the Baptist church about 1859. In it 
the Baptists and Presbyterians also worshipped, the Pres- 
byterian ministers sometimes preaching in Gaelic. }if- 
teen years later this building was sold to Tyson & Kelly, 
removed to the corner near the Presbyterian churcn, and 
converted into a workshop. 


On January 1, 1852, William T. Jenkens conveyed to 
S. W. Humber, W. T. Jones, R. A. Cole, H. J. Muse, J. M. 
Campbell, George S. Cole, and G. G. Muse, as trustees of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, about one acre of 
land “near the town of Carthage, on the Plank Road.” 

Three-fifths of the lot was to be held for the use and 
benefit of the church “as it is customary with such prop- 
erty.” The graveyard was to be “held and used for a 

16 


burying-ground forever.” — The first church, erected in 
1852, stood on this lot for twenty-nine years. Its ap- 
pearance is distinctly engraved on my memory: a small 
wooden structure; two doors facing the street; in front of 
each door a brownstone step; the pulpit between the 
doors; a square enclosure in front of the pulpit; a quaint 
little stove outside this railing; a gallery across the west 
end, reached by a stairway outside the house; no vesti- 
bule, no belfrey. The courthouse bell sounded the call 
for all the churches. The women entered the church 
through the south decor, and the men through the other, 
for they durst not sit together. Through small windows 
of plain glass the sun gave sufficient light by day; at night 
kerosene lamps and tallow candles procured from dwell- 
ings near by and placed on improvised stands cast somber 
shadows on floor and wall. Certainly there were no cush- 
ioned seats, nor rented pews, nor organ loft, nor vested 
choir. But this modest building was revered by the 
Methodists as the tabernacle by the Hebrews. 

Among the members one of the most zealous was Wil- 
liam T. Jenkens, the donor of the lot. He was born Sep- 
tember 1, 1813. The explosion of a percussion-cap de- 
prived him of sight in his early manhood. Thence- — 
forth darkness compassed the path he trod on earth, but 
not the highway of mind and soul. His wife died July 
5, 1888, and thirty days afterwards he followed her into 
the silent land. He was laid by her side in the tot he 
had given “for a burying-ground forever.” * 

In this church I first attended Sunday-school. The 
superintendent was the late W. T. Jones, and the assist- 
ant was the late S. W. Humber. My teacher was John 
M. Campbell, a son-in-law of William T. Jenkens. We 
were instructed in the Bible, the Methodist Catechism, 
avd Webster’s venerable “blue-back.” Memorable trinity ! 
Also in this church were observed the old-time class- 
meeting and the love-feast.§ Conferences, too, were 
held here at sundry times. 

The subjects especially emphasized in the Quarterly 
Conferences—stated in the inverse order of importance 

*Note 4. §Note 5. 

17 


—were Finance, the Sunday-school, and the Spiritual Con- 
dition of the Church. Between them existed the essen- 
tial causal relation. Without the Sunday-school the 
Church would be enemic. Without financial support 
neither the Sunday-school nor the Church could sur- 
vive. So likewise as to the preacher. Long befcre the 
cost of living had begun to soar as an eagle toward heaven 
—as in 1872, for instance, when the preacher was gra- 
ciously allowed to collect an annual salary of $650, if he 
could—in fact, from the days of the pioneer, familiarity 
with the principles of sound finance had become a part of 
the Methodist preacher’s equipment; and these principles 
he wisely applied both in his home and on his wor!-. 

In 1873 the pastor reported that all Sunday-schools 
on his charge had been discontinued during the winter ex- 
cept the one at Carthage, which was said to be in good con- 
dition. This custom of hibernation continued until 1886, 
when ‘‘two Sunday-schools lived through the winter, Car- 
thage and Center.” Concerning the Sunday-schools at 
Carthage the following report was made in 1884: “Here 
we have a good school well attended by members of the 
church, and of course therefore by the children. They 
sing well, some of the classes have their lessons quite well, 
the contributions are commendable, averaging over a dcl- 
lar per Sabbath. It is conducted with system and spirit. 
The first installment of a library was eagerly read, and 
with such a result as to lead them to ask and plan for a 
second purchase of books. The literature of our own 
Church is used.” Since 1884 a modest advance has been 
made, at least in the average collection. 

The burden on the preacher’s mind was the “spirit- 
ual condition of the Church”—seldom satisfactory, some- 
times almost hopeless. Significant is the latent thought 
in a report made in 1872: “Some [of the members of the 
churches] have, during the Christmas holidays, partici- 
pated in amusements which we believe to be sinful.” 
More hopeful is the report of 1876: “I think there is per- 
ceptible improvement. * * * Only a few cases of im- 
morality have come to my notice; these are in course of 
discipline, and will ultimately receive the censure of the 

18 


church.” In 1878 hope and despair contest for the mas- 
tery: “There have been no expulsions, though there are 
members in nearly every appointment who have no fitness 
whatever for church membership. The internal state of 
the church reveals a prevalent use of intoxicating liquors 
among many of the officials as well as among the private 
members, and much drunkenness and _ illicit distilling. 
And we could not get a committee at several of the 
churches, having ciean hands themselves, to lay hold of 
the foul practice. * * * It would seem that it would 
be better, if we cannot discipline and exclude the disorder- 
ly from the church, to let some of the churches go down 
entirely.” Another report made in 1878 indicates that 
the pruning knife had been used: ‘The church has im- 
proved since I came to the circuit in the following partic- 
ulars: a large number of ungodly, disorderly members 
have been put out of the church, and a better standard of 
religion is recognized. And at Center, Fair Promise, and 
Smyrna improvement has been quite visible. There has 
been no visible improvement at Carthage or any other 
point except in ridding the church of disorderly members. 
To reach this advantage which the church now oc- 
cupies has required a considerable sacrifice of pe- 
cuniary interest on the part of the preacher in 
charge. Strange as it may seem there are num- 
bers of worldly minded, loose, disorderly persons 
who wfll pay the preacher as liberally as the more 
pious members if the preacher will not disturb them in 
their carnal security and wild delirious dream of getting 
to heaven along the line they are living. But as soon as 
he pricks the bubble of their dreams and pushes them out 
into the world where they belong their willingness to con- 
tribute dies as they wake and find themselves outside the 
church. Had I been disposed to retain such members in 
the church and plied them with a flattering unction, we 
could have brought up our finances to much higher figures. 
For the sacrifice I look for no reward here, but rather re- 
proach. My successor and the church should I be re- 
moved will reap advantages which though I may not share 
with them here I hope to in that world where the work- 


19 


man who does the work and not another will get the 
wages.” 

From a report made in 1880 it seems that the succes- 
sor of this pastor reaped the advantages referred to: “The 
spiritual condition of the church as a whole is fair. The 
membership is large, and they are taking hold of things 
inalively manner. There seems to be a quickening spirit 
growing in the church.” 

These excerpts may perhaps enable one to form a con- 
ception of some of the barriers the preacher had to burn 
away. 

The sermon of former days was characterized by two 
distinctive features. In the first place, it was polemic. 
Doctrines were made prominent, if not paramount. With 
what result? There was benefit and there was detri- 
ment. The hearer was instructed in the basic principles 
of his Church; but his idea of loyalty to his Church some- 
times contracted his vision and blighted his tolerance. 
The non-identification of Christianity with Judaism 
created bitterness; and the question whether Solomon ful- 
filled the conditions of salvation marked a dividing line 
between Chrysostom and the Greek Church, and Augus- 
tine and the Latin Church. Within the memory of men 
now living taut denominational lines, strengthened by 
harsh denominational sermons, sometimes destroyed al- 
most every hope of denominational forebearance. There 
is one reflection. “While theories about light and air 
spring up and wither, the sun goes on warming and cheer- 
ing. While literary men dispute about the authorship of 
the liad, the imperishable treasures of the great epic 
abide.” 

In the second place, the olden sermon emphasized and 
magnified the “terrors of the law.” The people saw the 
lightning, and heard the thunder and the voice of the 
trumpet, and in terror they removed and stood afar off. 

This custom was due in part, no doubt, to the doleful 
sentiment of some of the hymns. The hymnology of the 
day was saturated with a devout sentiment which took the 
form of “other worldiness.” The last stanza of hymns 
commonly contained some reference to death and the fu- 

20 


ture life, and postponed the realization of our true life to 
the future world. Men and women sang their disdain 
of the life that now is. They declared they were pilgrims 
and strangers in a foreign land, through which they were 
passing because it was the only way to their home. The 
tunes fitted the sentiment—they, too, were sometimes 
doleful. 


A reference to these things is no disparagement of 
the preacher. He was confronted with conditions. No 
man was more useful or more necessary. He was the 
champion of righteousness and the mainstay of civilized 
society. 


In 1880 this old church was remodeled. At the west 
end was placed the pulpit, and at the east end a_ gallery 
which extended on each side half the length of the build- 
ing. Comfortable pews, frosted windows, adequate 
lights, and a suitable vestibule were provided. On the 
wall of the vestibule, immediately in front of the entrance, 
was suspended a white board on which in neat black let- 
ters appeared this unique admonition: ‘Do not defile the 
house of God within or without by chewing tobacco and 
spitting on the fleor.” 


In the earlier days illiteracy was abundant and hymn 
books were scarce. Convenience, if not necessity, ‘n- 
duced the preachers to provide for these conditions. Two 
lines of a stanza were read by the preacher and sung by 
the congregation in sequence until the singing was con- 
cluded. Why not? Did not the Greek stanzas run in 
pairs—strophe and antistrophe? When the old building 
was remodeled some foresaw an opportunity to improve © 
the singing. The purchase of an organ was_ proposed. 
To certain of the members the proposal was grateful; with 
others the effect was analogous to the appearance in a 
closed arena of the toreador with his instrument of tor- 
ture—it meant combat. The former class regarded the 
organ as a helpful means of worship; the latter, as a thing 
slightly less than profanation. Each in battle array, 
clan met clan. On each side passion rose amain; words 
flew more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle; and neither 


21 


friend nor foe of the beneficient instrument would yield an 
ell. 


“Then each at once his falchion drew, 
Each on the ground his scabbard threw, 

Each looked to sun and stream and plain 
As what they ne’er might see again ; 

Then foot and point and eye opposed, 

In dubious strife they darkly closed.” 

But finally, wonderful to relate, the strife ended, rea- 
son was restored, the organ was “installed,” and the fash- 
ion of “lining” the hymns was committed to the past. 

But the end was not yet. Time had rolled his cease- 
less course when some stout soul made bold to suggest as 
ancillary to the organ the resonant tone of the lusty cor- 
net, and the vibrant strings of the gentle violin. “What! 
A ‘horn’ and a ‘fiddle’ in the church!” Vesuvius was now 
in eruption. Lava in copious showers fell everywhere, 
but the discharge, of short duration, was solidified by 
cooling, and fortunately no one perished. In due season 
there appeared in the choir a silver trumpet and {wo ven- 
erable stringed instruments descended straight from 
Stradivari, of Cremona. At the same time there ap- 
peared in the congregation several expanded eyes, side 
glances, and wry faces. The organ, the cornet, and the 
two violins “‘sang a piece,” and immediately the tactful 
pastor in sonorous voice read this exhortation: “Praise 
ye the Lord. * * * Praise him with the sound of the 
trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise 
him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed 
instruments and organs. Praise him upon loud cymbals: 
praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every- 
thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the 
Lord.” Then there was ogling but fewer skewed faces. 

The church now standing on this site was erected in 
1900.* The conditions under which it was built are too 
recent to require recital. 

The first pastor of the dhurch built on this lot was 
John W. Tinnin. He was a native of Orange County, 


*Note 7. 
22 


was licensed to preach in 1841, was appointed to Deep 
River Circuit in 1852, and died in Pittsboro in 1865. 

The most of his successors are among the dead. 
These men literally gave their lives to humanity. Their 
toil was arduous and exhausting. For instance, in 1859 
Carthage, Center, Deep River, Fair Promise, Jones’s 
Chapel, Maroney’s, Mt. Carmel, Mt. Olivet, Mt. Zion, Pleas- 
ant Hill, Providence, and Tabernacle—twelve churches— 
made up the Deep River Circuit, and required the pastor 
to travel annually about thirty-six hundred miles. 


From the beginning the Methodist Church has con- 
stantly grown. May it not be likened to a grain of mus- 
tard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field? This 
seed, in popular estimation the smallest of all seeds, when 
grown becomes a tree. Rabbi Simeon said, “A stalk of 
mustard was in my field, into which I was wont to climb 
as men are wont to climb into a fig tree.”” So with Meth- 
odism. To what may its phenomenal growth be attrib- 
uted? Among the elements that have contributed to its 
development and influence may be named the practical ap- 
plication of its doctrines to the needs of daily life. hv- 
ery department of its organization it has clothed with a 
doctrinal defense. Aiming at the perfection of the inner 
life, it has “kept a vigilant eye on the construction of its 
peculiar type of theology,’—a theology that is preached 
in sermons, sung in hymns, and expressed in the terms of 
its ritual. There may be mentioned, too, the simple life, 
the deep conviction, the unquestioned faith, the intell- 
igent piety, and the devout habits of those who prize the 
communion of the Methodist Church. What shall be 
said, moreover, of that royal band of departed men who, 
having respect unto the recompense of the reward and 
enduring ' as seeing Him who is invisible, consecrated 
their lives to the Christian ministry? These were men 
of might—in moral and physical courage unsurpassed. 
Tactful and companionable, tremendously vigorous and 
aggressive, making paths in the untrod wilderness, and 
winning their way to the heart of the people, these brave 
men of iron will met the foe and fought the battle and 
won the victory. They planned their work, organized 

28 


societies, built churches, buried the dead, delivered their 
message. They found joy in sorrow, relief in suffering, 
rest in toil, strength in weakness. In loss they found 
gain; in poverty, wealth; in discouragement, inspiration ; 
in life, eternal hope; and in death, the white robe and the 
palm. 


Addenda 

Note 1—George Whitefield, an English evangelist, 
was the founder of the Calvinistic branch of the Metho- 
dists. He was born in Gloucester, England, December 
16, 1714. He was graduated from Pembroke College, 
Oxford, in 1776. Here he met the Wesleys, and with 
them founded the Holy Club. Ordained a deacon in 1736, 
two years later he followed the Wesleys to the Georgia 
Plantations. After four months he returned to Eng- 
land. He visited America seven times, and preached 
along the Atlantic seaboard from Georgia to New Eng- 
land. On September 30, 1770, he died at Newburyport, 
Mass., and was buried there in the Old South Church. 
He is said to have preached more than 18,000 sermons. 

He and Wesley, though one in heart, were divided 
in their theological opinions, and while their paths di- 
verged, their friendship remained steadfast. 

Parties of the most opposite character and princi- 
ples, such as Franklin, Hume, and John Newton, have 
united in bearing testimony to the beauty and effective- 
ness of Whitefield’s pulpit oratory. Dr. James Hamil- 
ton, of London, said: ‘He was the prince of English 
preachers. Many have surpassed him in making ser- 
mons, but none have approached him as a pulpit orator. 
* * * With a full and beaming countenance, and the 
frank and easy port which the English people love, he 
combined a voice of rich compass, which could equally 
thrill over Moorfields in musical thunder or whisper its 
terrible secret in every private ear; and to his gainly as- 
pect and tuneful voice he added a most expressive and elo- 
quent action. * * ™* Lord Chesterfield was listening in 
Lady Huntingdon’s pew when Whitefield described the 
sinner under the character of a blind beggar led by a lit- 
tle dog. The dog escapes, and the beggar is left to 

24 


grope his way, guided only by his staff. Unconsciously 
he wanders to the edge of the precipice; his staff drops 
from his hand down the abyss too far to send back an 
echo; he reaches forward cautiously to recover it; for a 
moment ~- he poises on vacancy, and ‘Good God” 
shouted Chesterfield, ‘he is gone,’ as he sprang for- 
ward from his seat to prevent the catastrophe.” 


Note 2— Francis Asbury’s personal history is al- 
most a history of Methodism in his time. His Journals 
contain a record of his zeal, ability, and_ self-sacrifice. 
He was never married; his salary was sixty-four dollars 
a year; his horses and carriages were given him by his 
friends. He parted with his watch, his coat, and his 
shirts to aid preachers in want. As a preacher he was 
clear, earnest, pungent, and often powerfully eloquent. 
He rivalled Melancthon and Luther in boldness. In 
Church History he deserves to be classed with the great- 
est propagators of Christianity, and when the secular 
history of America comes to be faithfully written, his 
name will be handed down to posterity as having con- 
tributed in no small degree to the progress of civilization 
in the United States. 


Note 3—The lives of two local preachers and two 
members of the North Carolina Conference were _ in- 
fluenced, if not molded, by the church at Fair Promise. 


Louis Phillips, a local preacher, was born Dec. 22, 
1806, and died June 15, 1902. During his long life he 
was perhaps the dominant influence at Fair Promise. 
He lived near the church, and the preacher was a welcome 
guest in his home. Hewas the father of Baxter C. 
Phillips. 


On the south side of Deep River, at Fair Haven, 
lived Harris Tysor, also a local preacher He was born 
October 15, 1808, and died May 2, 1887. He was a man 
of strong convictions and great courage, of plain speech 
and simple life. 


Charles H. Phillips was born in Moore County De- 
25 


cember 27, 1814. In the fall of 1850 he was admitted on 
trial into the North Carolina Conference at its session in 
Warrenton. In 1851 he was appointed to the Fayette- 
ville Circuit, and was thereafter continuously in the itin- 
erant field until his death, which occurred at his home in 
Randolph County, May 19, 1885. 

Baxter Clegg Phillips was born near Fair Haven, 
Moore County, July 29,1841. He was licensed to preach 
at Center in the fall of 1866, and began work the next 
year as a supply on the Montgomery Circuit. His sub- 
sequent appointments were as follows: 


1868-69-70-71 Pee Dee (now Mt. Gilead) Circuit: 
1872—Mattamuskeet Circuit; 
1873-74-75-76—Jonesboro Circuit; 
1877-78-79—Laurinburg Circuit ; 
1880-81-82-83—Randleman Circuit; 

1884—-Person Street Church, Raleigh; 

1885—Trinity Church, Durham. 

He died in Durham, March 16,1885. 


Note 4—In this “burying-ground” are interred the 
remains of two Methodist preachers who were members 
of the North Carolina Conference, Hiram P. Cole and S. 
D. Adams, and two little children of another, Frank H. 
Wood. 

Mr. Wood was the preacher in charge of the Car- 
thage Circuit in 1867-68. On the gravestone of his two 
children are these inscriptions: 


“Eggleston Lee Martha Calista 
Aged 1 yr. and 10 mos. Aged 1 mo. and 21 ds. 
Children of Frank H. and Elizabeth Wood.” 


Hiram P. Cole was born near Carthage September 1, 
1843. He joined the North Carolina Conference at Fay- 
etteville in 1866. His first appointments were the Cum- 
berland and Franklinsville circuits. These he served 
five years. His succeeding appointments were as fol- 
lows: 


1872-73—Winston Station; 
26 


1874—Person Street, Raleigh; 
1875-76—Hillsboro ; 
1877-78-79-80—Concord Station; 
1881—Rockingham Station; 

* 1882-88—Concord Circuit. 


He died in the parsonage of the Concord Circuit No- 
vember 22, 1883. 


S. D. Adams was born in Marlboro County, South 
Carolina, July 23, 1829. He was licensed to preach Oc- 
tober 26, 1850, and was received on trial in the North 
Carolina Conference at Louisburg in October 1852. He 
served in the following fields of labor: 


1852—Bladen Circuit, as junior preacher ; 
1853—Deep River Circuit; 
1854-55—Carthage Circuit; 
1856—Mocksville Circuit ; 
1857-58—Davidson Circuit; 
1859-60—Rockingham Circuit ; 
1861-62—Haw River Circuit ; 
1863-64—Carthage Circuit; 
1865-66—Rockingham Circuit; 
1867-68-69-70—P. E. Fayetteville District; 
1871-72-73—P. E. Washington District ; 
1874-75—P. E. Fayetteville District; 
1876-77-78—Greensboro Station; 
1879-80—P. E. Hillsboro District; 
1881-82-83-84—P. E. Raleigh District; 
1885-86-87-88—P. E. Fayetteville District; 
1889-90—P. E. Greensboro District; 
1891-92-93 and until his death—P. E. Warrenton 
District. 


He died at Weldon February 12, 1894. 
Note 5—Among the sources to which I have had ac- 


cess I find no record of the “Class” in the church at Car- 
thage later than 1873. 


Note 7—The preachers in charge of the Deep River 
27 


Circuit and of the Carthage Circuit at various times 
since 1852 are as follows: 

John W. Tinnin, S. D. Adams, W. S. Chaffin, Charles 
M. Anderson, Calvin Plyler, Thomas C. Moses, Robert A. 
Willis, Frank H. Wood, I. W. Avent, L. H. Gibbons, John 
Tillett, T. H. Edwards, A. P. Tyer, J. R. Scroggs, W. B. 
Doub, M. A. Smith, J. A. Hornaday, J. A. Lee, A. McCul- 
len, Z. T. Harrison, R. H. Broom, L. E. Thompson, H. M. 
Eure, E. E. Rose, H. B. Porter (during illness of the 
pastor,) N. E. Coltrane, G. W. Perry. 

Presiding Elders. 

Peter Doub, W. H. Bobbitt, S. D. Adams, J. P. Moore, 
J.S. Nelson, E. A. Yates, R. G. Barrett, L. L. Hendren, J. 
A. Cuninggim, J. T. Gibbs, W. H. Moore, J. B. Hurley, B. 
R. Hall, R. B. John, J. D. Bundy. 


Bibliography—Minutes of the Conferences, Records 
of District and Quarterly Conferences, Methodism in 
North Carolina, McTyeire’s History of Methodism, Wes- 
ley Memorial Volume, Stevens’s History of Methodism, 
Centennial of Methodism in North Carolina, Histories. of 
North Carolina, Colonial Records, State Records, McCiin- 
tock and Strong’s Cyclopaedia, The New International 
Encyclopaedia, Britannica, Histories of the United 
States, Lives of Wesley, Whitefield, Coke and Asbury, 
Asbury’s Journal, Pioneers of Methodism in North Caro- 
lina and Virginia. 


Div.S. -287.675352 A219) M5975 


__ Adams 


—_ Methodism in Moore County 


DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA 
27706 


AA 
DO0355660P 


